The Tale of Sierra WinterBreeze
by TwilightWakerofTime
Summary: Sierra WinterBreeze, the new Ice student from Earth, discovers that she's supposed to lead a group of wizards known as the Seekers of Light in defending the Spiral. The only problem? Sierra needs to find all of them first!
1. Part 1

A/N: Hello there! I'm Windlilly. ...Okay, yeah, I'm TwilightWakerofTime too, as you can see above. But that's only because someone stole my penname! O: Seriously, who names themselves Windlilly? Besides me, of course.

...Anyway?

This is "The Tale of Sierra WinterBreeze." Have you read it before? Do you recognize it? ...No? Oh. Well, I'm not surprised. I mean, it's not like this is the second most-viewed story on Wizard101 Central. And I'm definitely not a Featured Author on Wizard101.

Hey, guess what? I was just kidding! Hah! It actually is! I actually am!

Good news is it's technically not breaking fanfiction's "no re-posting" rule, because this version is sliiiiightly different than any you've seen before. Yay!

So this story is somewhat popular elsewhere. People seem to think it's actually worth their time. I'm posting it here to get your opinion - do people just like it because it's old, or because it's a decent read? Of course, if you've read it before, I'd love to hear your opinion too. So review. :D

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><p><strong>The Tale of Sierra WinterBreeze<strong>

**by TwilightWakerofTime/Windlilly/Sierra WinterBreeze**

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><p><strong>Part One<strong>

Something totally unexpected happened to me today. This was stranger than any of the weird things I "accidentally" do with my strange, abnormal powers – and I do a lot of strange things. And the question seems to keep repeating itself: why didn't I ever really think about how different I was before?

Okay, okay, so if you knew me, you'd know that I was not the most popular kid around. In fact, my life up until my epic "most unexpected, dramatic moment of my life" occurred, my whole life was torture. It seems that from the day the orphanage owners found my by the ocean and named me Sierra I was doomed to suffer. "Strange Sierra" is my nickname now. John, of course, is the worst, especially when I mess up and do something with my weird powers. Actually, the most satisfying moment of my life (not the most unexpected and dramatic – they're totally different, I assure you) was when I accidentally froze him solid by glaring at him. He had been blue from the cold as the caretakers thawed him out with hairdryers, and for once the kids were laughing at him, not me.

But he's had plenty of chances to exact his revenge. Our orphanage-wide field trip to the swimming pool, for example, turned into an ice skating rink when I wished for the water to become solid. Last winter, a snowman began talking to us… but that really _was_pretty funny. I mean, the younger children were all bounding around him, totally excited, screaming, "Frosty! You are real!"

Now, all these things are awfully decent reasons to ridicule someone, at least in the mind of a bully, but what the other kids really loved to make fun of was my love of the cold. I always refuse to wear a jacket, even in the harshest days of winter when blizzards seem endless and everyone else is curled up by the fire drinking hot chocolate. On the other hand, I avoid fire. I feel nervous by it; just standing in its presence feels like it will make me melt.

Over the years, I had managed to slowly gain a bit more control over my "odd abilities," as others in the orphanage called them. But somehow I still let something slip the day I learned of my true self.

The day began with the usual jeering and joking and calls of "Strange Sierra's here! Oh no, don't touch her or you'll be infected with odd-itus!" That was their explanation for the things that happened to me. John had made it up, claiming that it was a rare disease from Africa. _Yeah, right_, I thought, smugly wondering if he would like it so much if I froze him again. Unfortunately, this wasn't going to happen any time soon. I couldn't figure out how to do it again, no matter how hard I tried.

By some miraculous way I endured living through the day until dinner. I was super hungry, so I went in to the kitchen to see if there was any food ready. When I arrived, I didn't see anyone, but I was too hungry to wait. So I opened the fridge.

It looked normal, and then I reached in and…

The milk next to my hand turned frozen solid in a split second, even making a slight cracking sound. I was so surprised that I jerked my hand back, crashing it in to the glass cup that had been sitting on the table behind me and knocked it over. It toppled over the one behind it, and then the one following that, creating a domino effect. They all smashed in to a million pieces.

Afraid that my day of avoiding trouble was about to end, I staggered out of the room, and found myself face to face with one of the orphanage owners.

"Umm, I can explain," I began, but it was no use. He already had gazed back in to the kitchen, where there was the glass from the spilled cups all over the floor. I had left the refrigerator door open, and you could see plainly inside that everything in there was frozen over. The shelves on the side of the fridge door were dripping with icicles.

"I don't think you have to," said the owner sternly, though he was still gawking in the direction of the fridge. "Sierra, I don't know what you did, but I cannot allow you to come in here anymore tonight. We can't have anything else breaking. Go and… I don't know… play with a friend, or something."

Yeah, sure. Play with a friend. Great idea, if I had any friends.

I walked out, head down, miserable. Without any idea what to do, I stumbled outside, just because I knew that on a cool October day like this there would be no one else there.

I settled down, sitting on the steps leading up to the orphanage. It was times like this when I would dream of a family. An actual family, with two parents, maybe a sister or brother even. I'd seen so many others find their perfect families from the orphanage… but no one appeared interested in me. I probably would have scared them off with my freaky powers, anyway, if they actually considered adopting me.

I was still attempting to conjure up a mental image of a family when I noticed the owl in the tree in front of me. Now, it isn't like owls are anything supernatural, but I felt a peculiar sense of familiarity. Like I'd seen it before. I gazed up at its big eyes, and it stared right back. I began to feel uncomfortable. It almost looked like he was… examining me or something.

_Silly Sierra._

"Hmm… yes, you must be the one…" a voice said. I jumped, startled by the voice. I glanced around, but there was no one in sight. Just the owl. The strangest part was that its beak had moved just when that voice had sounded.

I stood shakily and walked over to the tree. I waved my hands in the air, as if to scare the owl off. It just cocked its head and continued staring.

"Get out of here!" I yelled, suddenly becoming overcome with a feeling that something very, very life-changing would happen if I did not get that owl away from me.

"Are you Sierra?" the same voice asks.

I stared at the owl in disbelief. Again, its beak had moved at just the right time. "Maybe," I replied timidly to the voice, scanning my surroundings for any other sign of life. "Why are you wondering? And who are you?"

The owl flew out of the tree and landed in front of me. I backed away as if it were inflicted with some kind of fatal disease. It laughed. "I am Gamma, Headmaster Ambrose's pet. I need you to come with me."

"What?" I exclaimed, still not daring to believe that it was actually an owl talking to me. An owl. I tried my best to evade looking at it, as if that would confirm my fears.

When I finally mustered the courage to peek back down at the owl, it was still looking at me. I wanted to run away, just forget all about this. Yet in some way, I was curious. I then racked my brain to think of some explanation. Was I hallucinating? Or was this some kind of nightmare?

"Sorry," said the owl. "I suppose I am forgetting what world I am on…" World? Oh yes, definitely a dream. It had to be. But had the entire day really been a dream? Or had I somehow fallen asleep on the steps?

"Sierra, you're a wizard."

I froze, unable to comprehend this new piece of information. A wizard? No. Impossible. Was this a bizarre mind-reading owl that knew how much I had always dreamed of something similar to this to happen? To tell me that there was a legitimate reason I was so strange? "A… a wizard?" I echoed. "It can't be. They aren't real."

"You are a wizard. A very talented one, in fact. At least that is what Ambrose tells me. I don't think he would have let you in to our school if you weren't special, anyway."

"A school? You mean with other wizards?" Now I began to wonder if it were a trick. It seemed real enough, and this would be a wonderful opportunity for John to prove that I was a freak.

"Yes. It is called Ravenwood school of Magical Arts. You are very lucky. It is the most prestigious school in the whole Spiral, rivaled only by perhaps Pigswick Academy. So, I need you to teleport with me to-"

"Teleport?" Oh, I'd love to see how John did that. Now I was completely convinced this was his doing.

"Yes. Teleport," said the owl impatiently. "Are you ready? Grab my wing."

"Um…"

"It is completely safe!" the owl laughed. "I assure you, you will not be harmed."

After a brief moment's hesitation, I grasped the owl's wing. Some remote part of my mind screamed that I was trusting a talking owl that I knew virtually nothing about to keep me "safe", but… I couldn't help it. Curiosity and hope were clouding my judgment.

The world turned grey around the two of us. I felt like I was inside of some raging hurricane; it was windy, and yet not frightening. Then, my feet touched solid ground and I was in some kind of office. There was an old man who was dressed as a wizard, complete with a snow white beard.

"Hello!" he greeted. "Welcome to Ravenwood! I'm assuming you are Sierra, correct?"

"Ravenwood? So, it's not a trick."

"Of course not. Why would anyone pretend about something like this?"

Now I was back to thinking it was a dream.

"Sierra, answer these questions and we will discover what kind of wizard you are." I peered at the book he had placed in front of me. It was labeled "Book of Secrets" and was brown and old. When I turned the pages, I saw that each was filled with questions. I stammered out responses to the wizard man. When I had answered them all, he took the book and said, "It turns out that you are Ice! That means you will be taught by Professor Greyrose."

Ice? Apparently he knew me well. It would make sense. Hadn't I frozen John with ice? And turned the fridge colder than usual? And seemed not to be bothered by cold?

"Ice school is weak, but they make up for it with great stamina," the wizard continued. "You also are great for shielding with Tower Shield. You're just like your father, Sierra. You-"

"What?" I shouted. "What did you just say? My… father?"

"Oh yes. I forgot. I must be taking you to see your family now."

"My _family_!" I gasped. "I have a family?" It was even more impossible than being a wizard. I couldn't have a family. Not even in a dream. I had always imagined my parents as heartless people who would leave a baby on the side of the ocean, but now… "Um, sir," I began.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We haven't been properly introduced, have we? I am Merle Ambrose, Headmaster of Ravenwood School of Magical Arts."

"Okay. I'm Sierra. And I just wanted to explain that I can't have a family. I'm an orphan."

"An orphan? Goodness, is that what you thought? I guess we have much to tell you. Come here. Sit." Headmaster Ambrose gestured towards a chair across from his desk. I dubiously took a seat. Then he began:

"When you were born, you somehow learned to teleport all on your own. We don't know exactly how you disappeared from your home when you were only six days old, but we have some suspicions. We believe that you somehow teleported yourself all the way from Wizard City to the world called Earth. Although that may seem hard to believe, it is the only possibility we can think of. Except for…" His voice trailed off.

"Except for what?" I asked, curious.

Headmaster Ambrose shook his head. "Never mind. Anyway, are you ready to see your family?"

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for this moment my whole life!"

"They are at their home. But before you meet them, I want you to complete enrollment. Go and meet all your teachers."

I was sent on a quest to go and meet all the teachers of Ravenwood. I met the Storm, Fire, Myth, Life, Balance, and of course Ice teacher, Professor Greyrose. I also discovered that the poor Death school had fallen in to a hole and now had to be taught by Malorn Ashthorn, a student that used to go there. Since I felt sorry for them, I used my only training point to learn the first Death spell, Dark Sprite.

When I finished, Merle Ambrose teleported with me to my family's house.

When he knocked on the door, a man with brown hair opened the door. "Hello, Merle," he said. Then he looked at me. "Oh, is this your newest student?"

"She's more than that," Merle replied, smiling.

"What do you mean?" Then his eyes lit up. "You can't possibly be…" He turned around. "Angela! Come here, and hurry! Bring Rowan, too!" He faced me again. "You're Sierra, right?"

"Uh… yes."

"I'm so glad to see you! What school are you? Life? Ice? Or something completely different?"

Just then, two people appeared beside him. One was a woman with blonde hair and light green robes with darker green trim that could be my mom. Next to her was a girl a little younger than me with similar robes, but hers had a silver trim instead. She had red hair that was gathered in a ponytail and intelligent green eyes.

"Rowan," said her (and apparently my) father, "this is your sister, Sierra."

She gasped. After taking in my appearance, she walked over awkwardly and smiled an uncomfortable smile. "I'm Rowan WillowLeaf," she explained.

"WillowLeaf? Is that my last name then?" I questioned.

"Unlike on Earth, wizards do not always have the same last names," explained Ambrose.

"Then what _is _my last name? And what are my parents' names?"

"Your mother is Angela UnicornRider. I am Caleb FrostSong. We do still need a last name for you. We never named you, but when we heard that your name was Sierra on Earth, we liked that name. Besides, it would be too hard to change your name completely. What is your school?"

"My what?"

"What type of wizard are you? Your mother and sister are both Life, but I'm Ice." He glanced at my purple T-shirt and jeans from Earth. "If you are Ice, I can get you some normal clothes."

"I'm Ice," I replied.

He smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen. He turned to his wife and second born daughter. "Did you hear that? We finally have another Ice wizard in the house!" Then he looked thoughtful. "But we still need a name for you."

"I think it should be Winter-something," suggested Angela UnicornRider.

"Yes, that's good. But Winter-what?"

"WinterHaven?" offered Rowan. "I like that name. Why couldn't you have named me LeafHaven?"

My dad ignored Rowan. "How about Winter… um…"

"WinterBreeze?" said Angela suddenly.

"I like it!" put in Rowan.

"I guess," agreed Caleb. To me, he asked, "Is that all right with you?"

"I'm just glad I have a last name for once," I answered, still a bit shocked by the fact that I had a family and they were speaking to me, and that I'd just pinched my arm and it had hurt. "I've never had one before, so I don't care what it is."

"Then it is settled," declared Caleb. "From now on you will be known as Sierra WinterBreeze!" Grinning excitedly, he beckoned toward me. "Come on inside. I'd love to show you around!"

Caleb led me into the house and in an old room that didn't look as if it had been cleaned in forever. Still, it felt cozy. "Well," he said, sitting on the bed, "I hope you don't mind sleeping here. I know it is a little dirty, but it will work, right?"

"Yeah, sure," I mumbled. "Did you say you had some clothes or something?"

"Oh right!" He got up and stooped over a chest that had been sitting in the corner of the room. He took out a white robe with light purple trimming. They didn't look at all like they were made for girls my size. In fact, they looked as if they belonged to an older man.

"Um, they're boy clothes," I point out.

"I know. I hoped you wouldn't mind for now, until we can go to the Shopping District and get you some real clothes. They're from when I was a boy, just after I'd graduated from Ravenwood. Are they okay?"

Great, now I won't only be wearing boy clothes on day one, but outdated robes as well. Of course, I couldn't say that to my new father. All I did was pick them up and slip them over my current clothes, grimacing at the baggy look to them.

"Perfect." He grinned. "Now you're ready for classes."

"Classes? I have to go to classes?"

"Yep. Today there isn't any classes, but tomorrow they start up again."

"Oh, you mean thosse kind of classes? I took some of those from Malorn Ashthorn today."

"What do you mean? Is that the student that teaches the Death school? Oh no! What were you training there for?" He suddenly appeared very anxious.

"I felt bad for their school so I used my training point to learn Dark Sprite. But I didn't really understand it. Pretty much all that happened was that he summoned a fairy thing and handed me these cards…"

"The Death school. I can't believe you decided to train second in the Death school! Your mother and sister are both Life, and therefore they despise the Death school! Your mother won't be happy about this."

"Oops. Why do they hate Death?"

"It's sort of how we don't like Fire."

"We don't like Fire?"

"No, we don't."

"Oh." I acted as if I understood, but I didn't. Professor Falmea had been really nice today. What was wrong with Fire? …Besides the fact that I felt uneasy every time I went near it; I hardly counted that as a proper reason.

He sighed. "What's been done has been done and we can't change that. But I'd better tell your mother. Angela!" he called.

Within a minute, Rowan and our mom appeared at the door. "What is it?"

"Guess who just decided to train second in death?"

Then Angela (or should I start calling her mom?) glared at me and asked, "It wasn't you, was it?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

Rowan was looking at me wide-eyed. "You decided to train second in death? Wow, that's totally awesome!" Then Angela glared at her. "Um, I mean, you should be ashamed of yourself. Death is terrible and evil." She rolled her eyes and glanced at her mom. Angela just smiled at her approvingly. When Rowan looked at me again, no longer did she appear uncomfortable. Now she just looked curious and maybe even a little respectful.

**xXx**

I took the day to explore my house and get to know my family better. I met Rowan's many pets, including the main one that our entire family loved, Bandit, a small Heckhound. I also found myself slightly jealous of Rowan, because her room was so nice. Then again, she had years to decorate and personalize it. I decided I needed to take a day to work on my own room.

The day was fantastic, and it even ended wonderfully. It took me forever to sleep; I was so excited for what the next day may bring.

It was a day later that I jumped out of bed, ready for school. I hurried there, and made it in the classroom just in time. The class had already started, but luckily it wasn't too far in the lesson.

When I walked in, the first thing I noticed was that the room was a sea of blue and white. The sky blue walls were adorned with pure white snowflakes, and even the other wizards wore those colors. At the front of the room, Professor Greyrose was deeply engrossed in teaching a lesson. She was drawing this strange circular figure on the board. "Everyone try it for yourself," she was saying. When she spotted me, she smiled and announced, "Oh, you must be, Sierra WinterBreeze! Welcome to Ice magic!" She turned to face the classroom. "Everyone, greet Sierra. She is new to this Novice Ice Magic class."

The class mumbled "Hello Sierra" before returning to their work. It looked like they were waving sticks around.

"Sierra, have you gotten your wand yet?" asked Professor Greyrose.

"Um, I'm supposed to have a wand?"

She sighed. "I suppose that means you haven't received one yet. Here, I think I have a spare in my desk." After rummaging around, she pulled out a black handled wand with a pretty white gem on top. When I waved it around, miniature snowflakes fell off of it.

"Now that you have your wand, you can take a seat. Go ahead, choose anywhere you want."

I sat at the back of the classroom, away from everyone else. I suspected that this wouldn't be much different than the orphanage.

But that was the thing. Here, I wasn't so different. The kids around me were doing ridiculous things; the group of giggling girls nearest to me were freezing their desks and accidentally giving their friends Frostbite. It resembled the things I had done on Earth.

"Okay, now you are ready," stated Professor Greyrose. "Right now we are trying to produce the Ice symbol. It is like that on the board over there." She pointed to the circular item she had put on the board. "The first person who manages to do it gets to learn Frost Beetle!"

"Um, sure, but how do I do that?"

"Just focus your energy on it and think about what you have to do."

I groaned as Professor Greyrose walked away. What did _that _mean?

First, I tried to draw a circle in the air with my hand. Nothing happened. Then, I decided that I would use the wand and make the snowflakes come out again and try to get them to form a circle. But when I waved the wand again, no snowflakes would fall. I wanted to scream. Unable to help myself, I secretively gazed around the room to see if anyone was having more luck. But everyone seemed to be having as much trouble as I was. Some were even saying random words to make it appear. I hoped that might work, so I tried all the Earth wizard words I could remember. "Hocus Pocus! Abracadabra! Alakazam! Um, uh, I don't know. Magicy icy thingy!" I finally realized that it wasn't going to work.

I let out a long breath sat back. Okay, nothing was happening. Maybe I should just give up…

In a desperate last attempt, I tried to recall what my teacher had told me. What was it? Oh, yes: "Just focus your energy and think about what you have to do." So, with one last good long look at the symbol on the board to make sure I memorized it, I grabbed my wand and closed my eyes. Deep within myself, I could feel… something. What it was, I had no idea, but I reached out to the bubbling energy source and concentrated deeply. Carefully raising my wand, I imagined the Ice symbol and traced it in the air.

I heard a strange noise that reminded me of a blizzard. When I opened my eyes again, in front of me was a floating blue sign that looked exactly like the one on the board. I'd done it!

"Well done!" exclaimed Professor Greyrose. The whole class turned to stare at me. I blushed. "Since you did it so marvelously, why don't you come up to the front of the class and demonstrate how to do it?"

Uh-oh. This wasn't what I'd been expecting…. Still, I didn't want to get in trouble on my first day of school, so I grudgingly walked over and placed myself in front of Professor Greyrose's desk.

"Err, okay… I think that all I did was, um, draw it in the air…"

"No way!" cried out a boy in the second row. "I tried that and it didn't work."

"You have to focus your energy on it."

All the students tried, and to their disbelief, they found that they could do it to. After everyone had accomplished it, Professor Greyrose taught me the first Ice spell, Frost Beetle.

When I was jubilantly walking out the door, I ran into a girl that was on her way out as well with completely white robes and blue hat and blue shoes. "Sorry!" I exclaimed.

"Oops. Don't worry about it. That was my fault, I'm sorry. I should have been looking where I was going instead of studying while walking."

Wow, that was a relief! If this had happened back at home – no, on Earth; this was my home now – then the other kid would have started yelling straight away. For someone to apologize for running into _me _was a huge difference!

"What's your name?" I questioned.

"I'm Jasmine IceFlame. You're Sierra WinterBreeze, right? I thought you did a wonderful job at teaching the class Frost Beetle today."

"Thank you." I smiled at her. This girl was really nice! "I guess I will see you in class tomorrow, then?" Maybe I would have my first friend!

"Actually, no. I just graduated to Apprentice Ice Magic today."

"Oh. I hope you enjoy your new classes, then."

"And I hope you like Novice Ice Magic as much as I did! Good luck!"

"You too!"

When I came out of class I found Rowan waiting for me. I began to talk to her, and I really got to know her better. No longer was she awkward around me. It is as if my choice to train second in Death really got her attention.

Then I discovered that she didn't always like the Life school. They all healed, and never damaged. "That's why I usually rely on my secondary school, Fire."

"Fire?" I asked, surprised. "How on Earth did you get our parents to agree with that?"

"Mom thought it was a good school for me, so after a lot of arguing, Dad allowed it. And what is 'Earth?' You mean like in spells?"

"Um, never mind; I forgot that you wouldn't know that." Though wizards didn't know about the world I came from, apparently they used it in some other way. Maybe it referred to nature? I shook these confusing thoughts out of my head and continued talking. "What are you doing after school? I have homework. Do you?"

"No. I'll probably go to Triton Avenue to finish up some quests."

"Triton Avenue?" I repeated. "Where's that? Sounds interesting."

"It is in a gate in Olde Town. But you can't go there yet."

"Why not?"

"You aren't trained enough."

"How much training do you need?"

"I don't know. I'm level 8 and you're level 1. You wouldn't have the spells required to protect yourself."

"Aww, that's not fair! I'm older!"

"It doesn't matter how old you are." She spotted my disappointed expression. "Well… I've heard Unicorn Way needs help," she offered. "Higher levels like me don't have time to deal with that."

"Perhaps I'll go check out that then…" My voice trailer off as I realized where we were. We'd arrived at our new house, so our conversation had to stop for the moment.

That night, I was just going to sleep for my second night in Wizard City. Angela UnicornRider came up to check on me before I climbed into bed. She smiled at me. I beamed back. "Are you comfortable?" she inquired.

"Yep! Very," I replied truthfully.

"Just tell me or your father if you need anything, sweetheart. We'll do anything we can to help you." She leaned over and kissed me, and I relished the feeling. I'd never been babied by my mother before, no matter how childish it may seem. "Goodnight Sierra."

"Goodnight Ange- I mean, Mom."

As she left I thought,_ If this is a dream, then it is the best one I've ever had_.

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><p>AN: Did you like it? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Anyway, as for later chapters... they'll probably come quickly! I've got most of the story written already. Also... if you've read this before, you'll know I can get, uh, carried away with my writing lengths. *thinks of Part 12 and shudders* To fix this issue, I'll split certain parts into TWO chapters (maybe even more for Part 12)! But since some (like this chapter) are fine the way they are, I'll only split ones that have - and I pulled this number out of absolutely no where - more than 6,841 words!

I NEED SEVEN REVIEWS ON THE FIRST CHAPTER OR ELSE SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN. So even if you're a flamer, review! Flamers are people too! Protect the flaming rights! (I don't know... I'm in a very random mood today...)


	2. Part 2

_A/N: ...Did I say seven reviews on the last chapter? I meant twenty. So you all failed! It didn't reach twenty reviews!_

_...No, I'm sorry. Thanks guys! Ten reviews on ONE chapter? That's absolutely incredible! I truly hope you weren't all just planning on commenting on the first chapter, though. Because I've got Part Two right here. And I fixed it up a bit. It makes more sense now - I mean, finding out you're supposed to fight the Spiral's greatest evil is a pretty big deal, right? Sierra hardly reacted at all in the first version..._

_Ugh, this should have been a Shards of Time update. Stupid writer's block. Stupid Armogohma. Stupid fighting scenes. Stupid Kakariko for not being anything like Twilight Princess's Temple of Time. Stupid Sierra, for adding in an unexpected plot-twist. Don't you just hate that girl?_

_As for this story: To new and old readers alike, please enjoy!_

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><p><strong>The Tale of Sierra WinterBreeze<strong>

by TwilightWakerofTime

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><p><strong>Part Two<strong>

Within just one week of being a student of Ravenwood I already had gotten the hang of everything. I knew not to walk in the middle of the street unless you wanted to battle; I knew not to insult Professor Drake, no matter how inconsiderate he was; I knew that though there were many amazing pets out there, you could only have one with you at a time; and I knew that Malistaire was Wizard City's enemy.

I had heard my parents speaking worriedly about him on the third night in Wizard City. I was just going into the kitchen to get a glass of water when I couldn't help but overhear them talking about me. "Merle thinks that she will defeat him… but how can she? She just came home and…" Angela's voice lowered so I couldn't hear anymore. I crept closer, but accidentally dropped the cup I was holding. That alerted them, and they stopped talking to come and help me clean the broken pieces up.

The morning of my eighth day enrolled in Ravenwood School of Magical Arts started off as normal as any other day… until I realized that I had woken up late and school was starting in just fifteen minutes.

Throwing on my Helm of Hailstones, Snowstalkers, and Cloak of Heart, I sprinted to the living room to find Rowan Willowleaf, my younger sister, playing with a Sprite that she had apparently conjured up when I came in. She saw me and gasped, "Sierra, did you just wake up?"

"How could you tell?"

"Maybe if you had bothered to brush your hair I wouldn't have noticed."

"Oh."

My mother, Angela UnicornRider, walked in as I was smoothing down my hair to the best of my ability. She also gasped, but before she could say anything I put in, "Yes, I just woke up."

"We have to get you ready!" she exclaimed.

"You think I don't know that?"

"Are you going to stand there all day? You'd better get moving if you want to be on time!"

I groaned. "How can I possibly get all my spell cards together, eat breakfast, find my wand, brush my hair, _and_ get to school on time?"

"Hmm… okay, I didn't want to do anything this morning but I guess this is a dire situation…" Angela waved her hand at a hair brush that was lying on the counter and, to my amazement, it floated up and began to comb out my hair all by itself. The pile of cards arranged themselves neatly into a deck. "I'll go find your wand. You eat."

I stared dumbfounded at the cards and flying hairbrush. "You can do that? Then why don't I sleep in every morning?"

"Because it's tiring," answered Mom.

I glanced at Rowan, who was smiling knowingly at me. "Did you know she could do that?"

She nodded. "Yep. Mom's done it loads of times for me. So, you better start eating. I'd usually be leaving now, but I'll wait for you."

I began to eat breakfast. As I was devouring pancakes and milk, I thought back to the day I came here, a weak Novice, with no idea that I had such a marvelous family.

Of course, now I had managed to level up to level 13, but Rowan was still superior to me at level 15. But I was gaining on her fast. My experience was high; I would level up soon.

I finished my breakfast, and Rowan and I headed out. We separated in Ravenwood. In Initiate Ice Magic, I passed a test with flying colors. Then I went to Initiate Death Magic, in which we once more practiced Banshee. I met Rowan in our regular spot, in front of Bartleby, the Grandfather Tree.

"How was school today?" Rowan inquired.

"The usual," I replied nonchalantly.

"You ready to go to Colosolous Boulevard today?"

"Sure!" I couldn't go to Colosolous Boulevard yet. I had to rely on Rowan to let me teleport to her. I loved it though. It was icy and cold, just like a blessed winter day on Earth. It never snowed in Wizard City, only in certain places.

We were ready to go. We fought our way through the crowds in the Shopping District. It was always busy right after school.

Finally, we pushed out right near the entrance of Colosolous Boulevard. Rowan walked right in, uninvited. I teleported to her.

I always enjoyed feeling the cold on my arms and legs. I rolled up my sleeves. "You're crazy," Rowan would always say. "How can you stand such cold?" But to me, this gave the same feeling of a warm, sunny day to most people. And I knew I wasn't alone. I had seen other Ice wizards in here that felt the same way I did.

Since Rowan was cold, she summoned a Fire Cat to keep her warm. It melted some of the snow next to us, but it instantly formed again when we walked away. That proved how cold it was in here.

We traipsed over to Mindy PixieCrown. She explained to Rowan that the Gobblers and Evil Snowmen were overrunning the streets, but I hardly cared to listen. Wouldn't she tell me the same thing when I got in here? When Rowan was done, she came over to me and said, "Mindy tells me to defeat some Gobblers."

"Are those the green things on the streets?"

"Yeah. Will you help me?"

"Of course!"

It didn't take very long to search for some Gobblers. We fought so much that my mana ran out six times! We made many trips back and forth between the Fairgrounds and here.

By the end of the day, we were both exhausted. "How many more do you need?" I questioned.

"None," Rowan replied. "I haven't needed any for a while. I thought it was fun."

Though I should have been mad at her, I wasn't. I thought it had been nice too.

"We should be getting back now."

"Yes, you're right."

Unfortunately, on the way back I got dragged off the sidewalk into a battle with two Gobblers that I had never seen before. "I don't need any help," I told Rowan, who was waiting patiently for me. "Go on ahead."

She did, and I was left alone to finish the monsters. It didn't take very long; I only used Snow Serpent a few times and they were goners. But this battle had been surprisingly difficult. The Gobblers had seemed actually intelligent in some way. Their moves actually made sense, and they weren't constantly eating in the middle of the battle.

I didn't matter in the end. I still defeated them easily, even if they were smarter than the average Gobbler and I was short on mana and health. I was about to run back to the sidewalk again when I saw something glint in the sunlight where the last Gobbler had been defeated. Making sure no monsters were about to force me into another battle, I hurried across the street and picked it up. It was some kind of old, rusty, bronze key. I examined it, and tried to rub some of the rust off. I thought I saw the ice symbol engraved on it, but it was impossible to tell.

Heading back in the direction of Mindy PixieCrown, I met back up with Rowan. She noticed the key in my hand. "What's that?" she questioned.

"I'm not really sure. A Gobbler had it. What do you think it unlocks?"

"A building maybe here, or in Wizard City?"

"Why would a Gobbler have a key to anything except its secret stash of food?"

"I don't know... but we should be getting home now. It's getting late."

"You're right…" Disappointed, I pocketed the key and silently vowed to find the lock it fit into.

The next day, Rowan took me back into Colosolous Boulevard. She intended to helping me discover where the key fit, but poor Rowan was so busy with quests that I couldn't bear to see her so stressed. "It is okay, Rowan," I said as she tried to cast an Imp spell on an Evil Snowman and test a door with the key at the same time. "I can find it myself."

She looked at me doubtfully but didn't say anything. She threw me the key and focused on her duel.

I searched the entire boulevard but didn't find anything that the key fit into. I was going to give up when I passed by Gobblestone Castle. It was the only building here that I hadn't tried, but I highly doubted it would work. This door was always open so that students could come in here to annoy the Gobbler Prince or convince the Gobbler King to leave. Why would there be a key to it?

I approached the ominous castle. It just made me aggravated, thinking about how the Gobbler King lived in such a magnificent palace, stuffing his fat face all day.

The door was closed, so, without really caring, I inserted the key in the door. Surprisingly, it slid in without any resistance whatsoever. Still somewhat stunned, I turned the key and the lock clicked shut.

Now that the door was locked, I glanced suspiciously around as if I were doing something I wasn't supposed to. I turned the lock again, and once more it was able to be opened.

I tried to open the doors. Strange, they seemed heavier than usual. Now I was glad Rowan wasn't with me; I could only manage to open the doors a bit, and it would have been hard for both of us to fit through. The doors clanged shut again as soon as I'd entered.

This didn't look _anything_ like Gobblestone Castle. It was bigger than before, and there was no longer a passageway on the left leading up to the Gobbler King. The floors were no longer black and white; they were tiled sky blue, the exact color of the Ice school. There weren't boxes of pies and other treats lining the walls anymore, either. The place was empty and deserted.

"Hello?" I called out. "Is anyone here? Gobbler King? Gobbler Prince? Hellooo?" My voice echoed off the walls of the silent palace.

There was no response, so I turned to try and walk back out the door. I yanked on the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. "Oh no, oh no," I muttered, furiously trying to pull the doors open. Then I tried pushing, to see if I was going the wrong way. Nothing was working! Much to my dismay, there was no key hole on this side. I was trapped.

"No. No! You have to open! You can't be closed!" I began banging on the door, desperate to get out. I even tried teleporting, but nothing happened. "Come on! Is anyone out there? Someone help me!"

No one replied, and I started crying. What was I to do? There was no other way out. I sank to the ground, sobbing loudly so that anyone nearby or outside may hear me.

Suddenly, an arm rested on my shoulder. Startled, I stood with my wand ready if there was trouble. All I saw was a Frost Giant, just like the one I had seen for my first spell quest. Except this one was smaller. Much smaller.

"Sierra Winterbreeze," it said, smiling warmly. Great. It knew my name.

"Um, who are you?" I asked cautiously.

"My name is not important. I am one of the great Frost Giants, but I was banned from the sky long ago because of my size. I was sent here, to guard the Tower of Lost Memories."

"The Tower of Lost Memories? So, that's what this place is called." I looked around the empty room. "What happened to Gobblestone Castle?"

"It is still here, but when you used the Key of Frost, you froze the time and transformed the castle."

"Okay… well, I'd better be going. Can I leave now?"

"Oh no, you can't yet. You are the Ice Seeker of Light. We need you here."

I looked at him distrustfully. "I think you have the wrong person. I'm an Initiate Ice wizard all that was raised on Earth my entire life. I don't know much about Wizard City yet, let alone being whatever you said. I can't even get into the boulevard without my sister's help!"

"Ah, but you just proved yourself wrong. It is because you were raised on Earth that we chose you. And it is not the magic you know that counts; it is the magic you will learn."

"Yeah, sure, sounds great. You know, I'd love to stay around and listen to some 'Seeker of Light' stuff but I really have to get going. My sister will be looking for me. Can you open the door?"

"Only the keeper of the key can unlock the Tower of Lost Memories."

"Stop talking in riddles! If you need the key to open it, then you can have it. Just get me out of here!"

"I cannot, for I am not the keeper of the key."

"Hey, are you sure that the only reason you were banished is because of your size? Because you seem pretty annoying, and if anyone else heard you then they might, you know… banish you or whatever."

The giant's face stayed stoic, not showing any emotion. "Do not insult me, Seeker Winterbreeze, or I will show you the true extent of a Frost Giant's power."

"Okay, got it," I said, backing away. Though he was small for a giant, he was still larger than me and could win a physical fight easily.

He did not say anything after that, only stared at me, studying my face. I stood frozen, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, I finally asked, "Who is the keeper of the key then?"

"You are."

"_Me_? How can I open a door without a lock?"

"It will be revealed to you when you learn the truth." I waited for him to say more, but he didn't. I groaned in frustration. I wanted to throw my wand across the room, but I didn't want to have to save up money for another one later on.

"Can you pretty, pretty please reveal what you want to? I have to get out of here!"

"Come here." Without another word, the giant motioned for me to follow him farther into the room, and I did.

The Frost Giant led me up to the spot where the throne would have been if this was still Gobblestone Castle. But, apparently it wasn't. This was the Tower of Lost Memories. What kind of crazy quest was this place for?

"Touch the wall," ordered the Frost Giant. It looked like a completely ordinary wall, but I still obeyed. I didn't understand any of this. Why had I been so curious at what the key did?

But the moment my hand touched the wall, the wall in front of me rippled. I jumped back, afraid of what may happen. But from the strange, blurry, sky blue wall an image began to form. Soon enough I could identify the image as a cozy room that was familiar to me.

Then it hit me: that was my living room! And there, on the screen, was Angela UnicornRider, my mother. She looked a little younger, but I was certain it was her. In her arms she held a baby. What was this? Present? Past? Future? Or just some weird, fake video?

The giant seemed to read my mind. "This is the past," he explained. "That baby is you at six days old."

"Six days old…" I repeated. Why did that age sound so familiar to me?

Now, Caleb FrostSong, my father, appeared. His mouth moved, but this peculiar video did not have sound. Angela put me down, and she walked out of the room, following Caleb. Now I was alone. I waved my arms around, and I guessed that I must have been giggling.

Then, in the blink of an eye, I was gone.

I couldn't help but gasp out loud when this happened. One second I was there, the next I wasn't. The screen rippled again, and the picture was once more a jumble of colors. Then the screen cleared, and I was somewhere different. It seemed as if I were still inside the house, because I thought I recognized our couch in the background. I disappeared and it changed again. Now I was inside a home that I didn't know, next to a stove that was on. I decided I must be teleporting. How else could I be going such distances?

The curious baby Sierra reached up to the burned, which was blazing furiously. "No!" I shouted, as if that could change anything.

The poor baby touched the fire, and it turned to ice.

I was stunned. How could that happen? No matter what, if any Ice wizard tried to freeze fire, it always melted. It was one of the first things we learned in Novice Ice Magic. So how could a baby do that?

"As I said, Seeker Winterbreeze, you have amazing potential. That is why you are the Ice Seeker."

My eyes stayed glued to the screen. My younger self continued teleporting to random places. Just when I figured out where she was, Baby Sierra teleported again. After teleporting one last time, the strange unclearness stayed for longer than usual. I waited and waited, but nothing happened. Was that the end?

"No, it is not the end," the giant assured me. How could he read my mind so accurately?

In the blur, I suddenly thought I saw a face. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone. What had it been? A Frost Giant, perhaps? No, I didn't think a Frost Giant could look so… so… evil.

Then, finally, the scene appeared again. I was in the middle of a street, and just as a car was about to run over me I vanished again.

"A car…" I said aloud. Was I in Marleybone then? No, I couldn't be. The people on the street had been wizards, not dogs.

Or had they been humans?

At that same moment I remember why six days old was such an important date. That was when I was sent to Earth!

Finally, the image faded away and the screen was gone.

The giant turned to me. "Did you notice anything strange about these events we just encountered?"

"Well yes, actually, a lot of it. First of all, the fire turning to ice. Secondly, that long period of time where the screen was unclear."

"Did see anything extra suspicious about that time?"

"You mean that face?"

The giant nodded.

"Do you know who that was?" I inquired.

"I do, just as everyone in Wizard City does."

I had no idea who he was talking about.

"WinterBreeze, are you ready for your task?"

I sighed. Was this amazingly terrifying experience just going to end in a quest? "What do you need?"

"We need you to find the other Seekers. There are seven in all, one for each school. Each has their own version of the Tower of Lost Memories in which they will be awakened. The first one we need you to find is our Fire Seeker of Light. Her name is Sydney JadeHammer."

Sydney Jadehammer. Where could I find her? What if she was a Grandmaster, all the way in Dragonspyre or some other high-level world? It seemed impossible to find one particular person when there were millions of students in Ravenwood.

"Do not doubt yourself. I assure you, you will find her."

"Okay." I nodded, finally coming to a conclusion. I'd try my best to find this Sydney JadeHammer, and if it proved too hard… well, who cared? Not me. "So… what exactly is a Seeker?"

"The Seekers of Light are the ones chosen to defeat Malistaire. Each of your lives has been touched by dark magic in some way or another, but you must together overcome it and banish Wizard City's evil. Because you have been awakened, Sierra, you now have full power. You could freeze fire like your younger self did."

I let that sink in for a moment, but then something he said struck me. "Wait… you expect me to defeat _Malistaire_? Malistaire Drake? As in… Spiral's greatest evil? That Malistaire?" I could hear panic seeping into my tone, but I didn't care. Was this giant blind? I was level 13! How could I fight _Malistaire_?

"I don't know of any other Malistaires, Seeker WinterBreeze." Wait, was that Frost Giant grinning at me? Did he think my panic was funny? This was _so_ not funny. Not at all. I could die from fighting Malistaire! "Do not despair, though. You don't have to fight him today. It will be a long time before you are ready for that, and you need the other Seekers with you, anyway." I sighed with relief at that – though I still wasn't comforted. I still had to duel him someday, apparently. Ugh.

"Now you may go. Unlock the door with the Key of Frost, and Gobblestone Castle will return."

He was just telling me to leave? After all that? Well, okay. "Thank you, almighty, powerful giant!" I called back. I think he was flattered by the words I used. Good thing he hadn't heard the sarcasm in my voice.

xXx

When I went back to the doors that had been so heavy, they swung open by themselves. No need to do it myself this time!

I began to run as soon as I stepped out of the tower. I looked back over my shoulder, but only saw Gobblestone Castle. I smiled to myself, thinking how lucky I was to be one of the only people who had ever seen that.

…Until the fantasy was ruined by the fact that I was supposed to fight Malistaire. _No point in worrying about it now,_ I told myself. _I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get there, I guess._

I wondered how long I had been gone. It must have been at least an hour, more than enough time for my family to become worried about me. Ever since I came back from Earth, they had been too protective.

Lost in my thoughts, I ran straight into a lower leveled Storm wizard. "Sorry!" I called back over my shoulder. I couldn't stop now. I didn't want my entire family to get all worked up over nothing.

And then, as I was approaching the gate, two gobblers ran into me. "Go away!" I shouted angrily, but the dueling circle was already forming around us. "No!" I tried to say. I had to get home and fast! Plus, my health was very low, and my mana was only at 13. I thought I was doomed.

Then, as I was using up the last little bit of my mana to try and use a pixie spell, another wizard joined. Maybe if there was someone else to fight, then I should flee.

But when I looked over at my new companion, I saw Rowan!

She smiled at me but didn't say anything. She summoned a unicorn to heal us both, and she finished off the last gobbler with a leprechaun. Even when the battle was done, she still didn't say anything about my disappearance.

"Um… aren't you wondering what happened?" I asked her.

"Oh, you mean about the key? Did you find where it fit?"

"Yeah. But aren't you wondering about where I was?"

"What do you mean? You weren't gone that long, Sierra."

"I wasn't?" I frowned. "But it must have been at least an hour."

"It has only been, like, 3 minutes since you last checked on me. You said you were going to Gobblestone Castle."

"What!" I exclaimed. "No, that can't be. I was in the Tower of Lost Memories for what seemed like forever." Sure, maybe an hour was an exaggeration, but three _minutes_?

She looked at me funny. "The tower of… what? Sierra, are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. What about_ you_? I must have been gone for a longer time than at just three minutes."

"Well… at tops it could have been five," she offered with a shrug.

I groaned. This wasn't making any sense. What had happened?

"Well, uh… Sierra, maybe we should go home now. Tomorrow we can look at where that key goes, ok?"

I scowled. "Whatever."

We began to walk out the gate. I felt sadness come as we left the frosty streets. I thought about my job that I had been given. It was almost like the ultimate quest, a difficult one that seemed impossible to complete. I knew I had to do it, though, because the fate of Wizard City now rested on my shoulders. Apparently.

I guess compared to what could have happened, I was lucky. Besides the fact that one day I'd be battling with Malistaire Drake, I only needed to find a single Fire wizard. Even without any clues or even an idea at what she looked like, I could beat it, with some work. I had to, for the Frost Giant and everyone else.

I didn't know if I could handle all this pressure! What was a new Seeker of Light to do?

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><p><em>AN: ...Why do I feel guilty about uploading this chapter? Oh, right. Because my poor Zelda story is being ignored. Aww... poor little Shards of Time..._

_If any of you like The Legend of Zelda, can you go check it out? Please? And review? Double-please? That'd be epic._

_For those of you who follow the original version of this story, by the way, I'm pleased to announce that it's completed. I just finished Part 15. It should be uploaded soon (meaning anywhere for a week to a year XD)._

_Remember: REVIEW!_


	3. Part 3

_A/N: Sorry if it seems like I forgot about this, but I didn't. I just realized that there were a lot of things in this part... that I didn't exactly like. But, thanks to my laziness, I decided not to change anything important. O_o Don't worry, though - you'll notice SOME differences. (Like a lot more sarcasm... ooh, I love sarcasm... and that wasn't a sarcastic statement, either...)_

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>The Tale of Sierra WinterBreeze<strong>

by TwilightWakerofTime

* * *

><p><strong>Part Three<strong>

From the very beginning I knew that Sydney JadeHammer would not be easy to find. I mean, really. She was one wizard. One! Out of, like, one million! Plus, I had absolutely no idea where to look for her. My only hint was that she was Fire, but when I asked Miss Falmea about her, she said that Sydney didn't take lessons in the Fire school. I couldn't ask any more questions, because she then sent me off to find Fire Crystals in Dragon Mouth Cave. Stupid quests…

I'd never been to Dragon Mouth Cave before, so it took me a while to locate it. Apparently, it was in Golem Court. As I approached the cave entrance, the gate with the Fire symbol on it slid open for me.

Great. More fire. As a Thaumaturge, I was terrified of open fire. Fire wizards were all great, but fires in general were just… ugh…

When I reluctantly strode inside, I found that the cave was just like any other: rocky walls, stale air, and a dark ceiling. But this one had an ornate red and white mosaic on the ground. There was a giant statue of a dragon, with enormous wings that almost stretched from one end of the cave to the other. Half of its body was hidden in the rock. Much to my dismay, an enormous fire blazed in front of the stone dragon. Though like most fires it felt warm and inviting, I could also sense some kind of warning from it, as though some unknown danger lurked in the darkness of the cave. Or maybe that was just me being paranoid – fires just made me nervous.

I would have marveled at all of this even more if there hadn't been two other visitors in the cave. They were a boy and girl. The girl was a Fire wizard from the looks of it, and the boy Myth. Much to my surprise, they were engaged in a duel.

"I am _so _going to beat you this time!" taunted the myth wizard. He had the traditional royal blue and yellow myth robes on, with blue eyes and blonde hair.

"No way. I always win, remember? I'm the older sister," the fire girl retorted. She was a pretty girl with green eyes that shined like emeralds in the flickering firelight, and she wore pink and red robes with a hood over her head.

"I'll shield myself!" the myth student yelled.

"No, you won't. You don't know what spell I'm going to use," said the fire wizard.

"My minion will finish you off!"

"I bet he can't! I'm the higher level, anyway."

"Yes, but you're still losing."

The myth student cast a Troll, and his minion cast Fire Cat. All hope seemed lost for the Fire girl, until she miraculously cast a Kracken.

"Noooo!" wailed the myth student when he was defeated. "Since when do you know Kracken?"

"It was a Treasure Card."

"Oh, duh. I knew that."

"Sure you did, Hunter. Sure you did."

"Um… excuse me," I cut in. "I thought this was a cave, not a dueling arena."

Both students turned to look at me in astonishment. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" exclaimed the Fire wizard. "I didn't know you were in here. Not too many people come at this time of day."

Wondering how she would know that, I explained, "I came here to get fire crystals for Falmea."

"Oh, for Falmea? I can help with that!" The girl turned, and picked up a handful of gorgeous gem similar to a shining ruby that was sitting by the fire. She handed them to me cautiously. "Careful, they're hot," she advised.

It _was_ warm, but when I encased my hands in ice it wasn't so bad. "Thank you!" I called over my shoulder as I turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," said the myth wizard.

I looked at him, raising my eyebrow in question.

"Uh… how come your ice doesn't melt?"

Dang! I'd forgotten about that! "Um... I don't know. Sorry!"

Of course I knew. It was because I had been "awakened" in the Tower of Lost Memories. Somehow, though, I didn't think he'd really like that answer.

"Are you _sure _you don't know?" The girl scrutinized me. Curse my stupidity! She definitely suspected something.

"Uh, no. Don't know anything about it."

She stopped examining me and looked me in the eye. "What's your name?"

"Sierra WinterBreeze," I announced proudly. I loved my new last name.

"I'm Sydney, but I don't tell strangers my last name. This is my brother, Hunter."

"Hunter _ThunderShield_!" the myth student corrected.

"Hunter! Mother says not to tell strangers your last name!"

"How can this hurt?"

"I don't know. But I'm telling!"

These two sure fought a lot. Backing away, I said, "I'd better be going now."

"No," said Sydney. "I want to duel you." She turned and a dueling circle appeared in front of her.

Okay. I wouldn't mind that. Couldn't hurt. "But… why in here? Can't we go to the arena or something?" I questioned.

"Uh…" Sydney hesitated for a moment.

"Seriously, Sydney, what can telling her do? It can't hurt," Hunter urged.

"But Mom said–"

"Mom's not here right now," Hunter pointed out. "Sydney, if you don't tell her, I will!"

She let out a huff of air. "…Fine." She turned to me. "My parents don't like me telling people we don't know about ourselves, but as Hunter said, this can't hurt. It was… when I first went to Ravenwood, on my first day of school. After showing us how, the teacher told us all to cast our best Fire Cat. When I did mine, it was beautiful, perfect; it was even better than the teacher's had been! Just as Falmea was congratulating me, the cat, it…" I was shocked to see tears form in her eyes. "It turned and attacked me. It was so ferocious that it knocked me unconscious. They tell me that it went after other students after that, and the Headmaster had to be summoned to calm it down. I was banned from ever going back to the Fire school again, but since Falmea felt sympathetic, she helped me try and find a cure for my unusual condition. With her aid, we discovered that my spells work here, in Dragon Mouth Cave. So she gives me private lessons in here sometimes. Outside of this cave… my spells will go berserk, harming myself and others. In fact, I think it is because of that day that my parents are so overprotective." She glared at Hunter. "At least I abide by their rules, unlike _some _people!"

"Interesting," I muttered thoughtfully. I wasn't kidding either. How could your spells go out of control?

"So… did you want to duel or not?" she asked impatiently.

I paused for a second, considering it. In any other circumstance I would have said yes, but now that she had explained that her spells could go haywire I wasn't sure.

She seemed to know what I was thinking. "Weren't you listening? I promise you, they never act up in here. Just everywhere else."

Finally, I relented. "Sure… I guess so. What level are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Same here."

"Great! We'll be evenly matched."

I learned quite a bit in that duel with Sydney. She was actually very fun to talk to – I hoped that I could visit her more often after this. The battle was rather long and tiring, considering neither of us was willing to give the other any kind of advantage, but in the end I won. It was close, though; one more turn and her Fire Elf would have defeated me. I was impressed. Besides, didn't I have special powers or something? According to the Frost Giant, I was a Seeker of Light. Maybe it didn't apply to duels.

Come to think of it, wasn't the next Seeker of Light named Sydney?

"Hey, Sydney…" I started to say. But before I could continue there was a loud rumbling in the ground.

"What's going on?" asked Hunter, getting up from his seat on the sidelines, looking around wildly.

"I don't know," replied a rather stunned Sydney.

"Come on," I shouted over the din, running back towards the entrance to the cave. "Let's go check out Golem Court–"

Almost the instant the words were out of my mouth, the gate with the Fire symbol on it slammed down, sealing the entrance. For a moment I just stared at it, completely dumbfounded. That had been our only way out…

"That's not possible!" Sydney gasped, hurrying over and tugging on the bars with all of her might. "How can it close all on its own?"

Hunter, on the other hand, had stayed back in the main section of the cave, now cried out loudly. Sydney and I turned our heads to figure out what was bothering him so much – and then we froze.

I'd been wondering what could cause such an earthquake. Now I knew.

The enormous dragon statue was moving.

The stone dragon raised its head and we all took a step back. It scanned the cave as if looking for something, and then it spotted us. It roared and breathed fire high into the air, scorching the cave ceiling. It started lumbering toward us, causing the ground to groan and shake with every step.

The three of us backed into a wall. When the dragon got close enough, it howled again and thrust a heavy arm straight at me. Caught by surprise, it made contact and I zoomed across the cave, thumping unpleasantly into the wall. It then targeted Sydney, breathing fire at her. Luckily, it didn't affect her at all. Fire wizards were as invincible to heat as Ice wizards were to cold. Unfortunately for me, Ice wizards were particularly vulnerable to warmth. Entering the cave in the first place had been difficult, and now…

I stood back up, ignoring the pain I felt. No matter how scared I was, I had to help Sydney. I got out my deck, hurriedly pulling out an Evil Snowman card. The creature appeared rather quickly and immediately pounced upon the dragon, attacking with all its might… but it seemed to do nothing at all. Everything just bounced off the stone body of the Dragon.

Hunter saw what I was trying to do and summoned as powerful of a Cyclops as he could. The dragon didn't even seem to notice.

The dragon was quick to realize that his flames weren't working on Sydney, so it scooped her up. She struggled to free herself, but it was no use.

_No,_ I thought. _You can't hurt my new friend! Think Sierra, think! You have special powers, right? Use them! _I glanced around the cave to see if there was anything I could use. I saw Hunter's Cyclops still attacking the Dragon's feet in vain, and my trampled Evil Snowman that the dragon had stepped on. Apparently Myth, Fire, and Ice weren't working. What else could we do?

Death.

Of course! I had trained second in Death magic. Why not put it to good use? I frantically cast Banshee, and we finally began to see some effects. The Banshee's scream caused the dragon to stop, and put its hands up to its ears. It also caused him to lose his grip on Sydney… which I quickly realized was both good and bad.

Good news: Sydney was free!

Bad news: Sydney was now plummeting to the ground, and there was no way I could help her.

The dragon started stomping, and the ground shook so violently that Hunter and I were flung into the wall. My Banshee continued screaming, and the dragon kept snarling with anger and frustration. He banged his head on the wall, making rocks fall from the roof, drowning out the Banshee's wails.

And, while all this happened, Sydney continued falling, her body stiff from shock. Hunter, I noticed, had tears in his eyes. I didn't blame him. The situation seemed hopeless… there was nothing we could do…

Then, an idea occurred to me. Maybe I was just crazy, but with a little luck, this could save my newfound friend. "Sydney, cast a Sunbird!"

She regained her senses quickly, crying out, "Why?"

"It can fly. Maybe it can catch you!"

Fortunately, Sydney didn't waste time on any more questions, instead pulling out her deck and fumbling to withdraw a card. Luck was on our side at that moment – the second card in her deck happened to be Sunbird. She tried drawing the Fire symbol as she fell, the ground slowly coming closer –

And the spell fizzled.

All three of us cried out in identical cries of dismay. "NO!" Sydney screamed. "I was lucky enough to find that one in midair. I don't think I can get another one!"

"You have to try! You can't give up, Sydney! I won't let you!" Hunter sobbed.

Sydney frantically dug through her deck. Did I have any cards that could fly? I pulled out my own deck to search, but a tremor from the dragon scattered the cards everywhere. Angrily muttering to myself, I bent over to pick them up, but my gaze trailed upward to fall upon my friend. Time felt like it was running in slow motion right now… I could barely even believe that she was still falling. Dragon Mouth Cave must have been very tall…

In her haste, Sydney started dropping cards onto the ground. One fell on my pile as I was picking up my own cards, and I absentmindedly turned it over, glancing at the card name.

I almost dropped it in shock.

It… it was a Sunbird!

But even with the card, I had no idea how to cast it. I considered asking Sydney, but with one glance at her frustrated and terrified face I decided against it. If she didn't tell me, who would?

I knew one person. A certain Life student who was a few levels ahead of me, trained second in Fire, and had recently been working on Sunbird for homework…

I had learned a few days ago about Whisper Chat. You could talk to anyone from across the Spiral. It was quite convenient, and much cooler than cell phones back on Earth. I carefully pictured Rowan WillowLeaf in my mind, with her red hair and sparkling green eyes and playful smile I knew all too well. Then I said in my mind, _"Rowan?"_

"_What is it Sierra?"_ came my sister's voice. I was relieved; I hadn't been quite sure it would work. _"I am in a boss battle. I can't help you."_

My heart sank. _"But this is a matter of life or death!"_ I shouted desperately.

"_If you get defeated, you will go back to the Commons. You can heal there."_

"_Not if you fall from the height of a thousand story building!"_ I knew I was exaggerating a little, but I had to get Rowan here.

"_A what?"_ Rowan asked in alarm. _"Hang on; I'll be there. Who is it that is falling? Is it you?"_

"_No, it's Sydney."_

"_Who's Sydney?"_

"_Don't ask! Just come, now! If she doesn't make it… we'll at least need a healer…"_

After a pause, Rowan answered, _"I can't come to you. It's not working. Where are you? A dungeon?"_

I groaned. Of course she couldn't teleport directly inside. Had I truly expected that? But what would we do if she couldn't come to cast it?

Then, Sydney cried out jubilantly, "Found one!"

I sighed with relief.

But before she could cast it, the dragon's hand thrust out and grabbed her again. The Banshee's wail was so loud now, and the ground felt like a stormy ocean. Angrily, the dragon threw Sydney against the wall.

"SYDNEY!" screeched Hunter. Now she was sliding down the wall, about to fall to her doom once more.

But this time, it was different.

We had no Fire wizard to cast Sunbird for us, because Sydney was unconscious.

I was out of options and rapidly running out of time. There was only one thing left I could think of doing. If I couldn't get a Fire wizard to cast this card for me, I'd just have to do it myself.

"_Rowan,"_ I said in despair over Whisper Chat, _"how do you cast a Sunbird?"_

Something in my voice must have made her realize just how important this was. _"It is just like any other Fire spell," _she explained._ "You think about something warm, and then about the spell you want. You draw the symbol in the air, and-"_

I didn't even wait for her to finish. The Fire symbol was already in front of me, waiting for someone to activate it. I did, and the Sunbird appeared. But how did you control what it did? I had to figure out fast, because I only had about ten seconds before Sydney was going to die…

"Uh, Sunbird… Go and catch Sydney!"Nothing happened, and the Sunbird ignored me.

8 seconds remained.

"_Rowan, how do you control the Sunbird?"_

"_Don't you just tell it what to do?"_

"_I tried that and it didn't work!"_

6 seconds…

Hunter was in vain trying to catch Sydney, but it was no use. I thought that he would probably be crushed underneath her if he didn't move out of the way.

"_I guess that's because you're not a very talented Pyromancer."_

"_Well duh, I'm Ice! I've never taken Fire classes in my life!"_

"_Okay, okay. Um, I'm not sure…"_

"_WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT SURE?"_

4 seconds…

"_There is one thing you could try…"_

"_What? Tell me now!"_

"_You could call it Flame, and just use the same command."_

"_Why Flame?"_

"_I don't know. It works when I use it on my Sunbird. It likes it, I think."_

"_Couldn't you think of something better? I mean, Flame? Come on!"_

"_If you don't like it, don't blame me when your friend dies!"_

I wished she were here, just so I could glare at her. _"Fine, I'll try."_

2 seconds…

Sydney's limp body was actually far above the ground, but she was falling so fast it wouldn't matter.

I turned to the Sunbird. "Please Sunbird – uh, I mean Flame – go and catch her!"

The Sunbird looked wildly around at the mention of Flame. It saw me, and cocked its head as if trying to understand if I had been the one to say that. I nodded.

1 second…

Flame zoomed across the cave…

…and caught Sydney!

"_YES!"_ I cried out, before realizing that I was still in Whisper Chat. In the cave, you wouldn't have even been able to hear my cry out over the stomping of the dragon and the wailing of the Banshee. But wherever Rowan was, my yell had been loud.

"_What happened? You didn't have to yell! Geez!"_

"_Sorry, that was supposed to be out loud. But guess what? It worked! Flame saved Sydney!"_

"_See, do you still think Flame is a bad name?"_

"_Yes, but I'll remember it forever now."_

Even though Rowan didn't say anymore, and I couldn't see her, I could tell she was smiling.

The Sunbird lazily drifted down to land next to us with Sydney on its back, as if it hadn't just been amazingly heroic and saved someone from what could have been a fatal fall. When Hunter tried to help me pull Sydney off its back, I discovered how heavy unconscious people were. Even with the two of us working together it took some time to haul her onto the floor of the cave. It also didn't help that the dragon was still shaking the ground while it stomped around. We gently placed her on the bottom of the cave and I mentally deactivated the Sunbird spell, causing Flame to disappear.

"Is Sydney going to be okay?" asked Hunter loudly, struggling to be heard over the chaos in the room.

"Of course!" I replied, though I wasn't so sure myself. Though I'd never seen a dead body before, this is what I had always imagined it would look like.

Because the dragon was still thudding around everywhere, I whipped out my deck and cast as many Banshee cards as I could find. After another minute of earthquakes and Banshee wailing, the dragon let out such a pitiful cry it almost made me feel bad.

Finally, the dragon stopped roaring. It was so sudden that even the Banshees stopped wailing in the new silence. Hunter jumped up from sitting beside Sydney, and we both stared up at the dragon. It was once more solid stone, but now its hands were held up to its ears.

The Banshees vanished. Hunter, Sydney, and I were the only ones left.

I bent over Sydney. "What are we going to do?" questioned Hunter, his voice slightly hoarse from yelling so much earlier.

"We should take her to a hospital. She needs healing." Using all our strength, we picked up Sydney and dragged her to the mouth of the cave.

Unfortunately, we found that it was still blocked by the gate with the Fire symbol on it. "Oh no!" gasped Hunter. "How do we get out?"

I peered outside. "Hello? Anyone out there?" When I looked out through the bars, I saw absolutely no one. Mr. Lincoln wasn't in his usual spot by Golem Tower. Not even the wind seemed to be blowing, as if the world was holding its breath. Everything looked lifeless, as if it were just a picture.

Somehow, this reminded me of my awakening in the Tower of Lost Memories. When I had come to Rowan, she acted as though no time had passed. Could that be happening here? Could that be what I was witnessing? That would have to mean that a Seeker was being awakened though, wouldn't it?

I remembered that I was looking for the Fire Seeker of Light. Wouldn't it make sense if they were awakened in Dragon Mouth Cave?

"Hunter," I said to him, "What is your sister's last name?"

"Um, I'm not supposed to tell anyone…"

"Please. I might know a way to get us out of here if you tell me."

After a moment of hesitation, he answered, "JadeHammer."

JadeHammer. Sydney JadeHammer. That must have been it! The more I repeated to myself the more I knew it was right. Yes, Sydney JadeHammer was the Fire Seeker!

I didn't get a chance to get excited about it, though. Right away, Hunter and I heard a roar from back inside the cave, and we exchanged terrified glances. Could the dragon be back? We wouldn't stand a chance with Sydney unconscious, my Banshees tired, and Hunter's spells useless.

We rushed back into the cave, and sure enough, the dragon was there, moving again. I raised my wand to protect Sydney and Hunter, but surprisingly, the dragon laughed. Great, now it was talking! What excuse did it have for attacking us?

"Seeker WinterBreeze," it began in a distinctly feminine voice. Wonderful. Not only did it know my name, it knew I was a Seeker, too.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Leave my sister alone!" Hunter bravely shouted.

The dragon chuckled once more. "I will not hurt her, child. Let me show you that I am a friend." With the same hands that had once thrown Sydney across the cave, the dragon picked her up. Hunter and I let out identical cries of dismay, but the dragon handled her as gently as if she were her own child. A green light encompassed my new friend - the same shade Life wizards created to heal. When it faded, Sydney stood up and peered around, looking dazed. The dragon set her down, and Hunter ran over to hug her.

Was this dragon to be the one to "awaken" Sydney? It could be, if I pretended we hadn't just fought it with all we had a few minutes ago.

"Sydney JadeHammer," the dragon said. Sydney looked up. "Thank you for freeing me from the curse that was placed upon me. He put it there thinking he would destroy the Seekers before they got the chance to defeat him."

"He? Who?" she questioned. I glared at her. Shouldn't she know?

"The evil one… the one that you must defeat." The dragon's yellow eyes narrowed, making it look much more feral and ferocious, and the next word sounded like a hiss. "Malistaire..."

Just saying the name caused Sydney's eyes to widen in horror. I couldn't help but think about how similar this was to my reaction. "Wh-what? You... You want me to... I mean, I'm supposed to defeat _Malistaire_?" The dragon nodded. "But he's so powerful!"

"Don't speak like that!" the dragon said harshly, making us all jump. "You have the power to defeat him if you believe. But if you think like that, then he's already won."

"Sorry…"

Immediately the dragon's face softened, and it smiled warmly. At least... I thought it was a smile. I couldn't really tell, because I had never seen a dragon smile before, and seeing all those sharp teeth wasn't the most comforting sight in the world. "I know that you are new, so I shall let that pass."

"What am I new to?"

"Close your eyes, Seeker JadeHammer. Do you remember this day?"

"How could I forget," she whispered, and she winced, almost as if in pain.

"Your future as a Fire wizard seemed to be ruined when this happened. But Falmea was kind enough to continue to instruct you on the ways of the school. One of the reasons she did this was because she saw the great potential you have as a Seeker."

"Wow," she breathed. Sydney opened her eyes. Though I wasn't quite sure, I thought she may have once more witnessed the day she had told me about, when the Fire Cat had attacked.

"Sydney, the reason your spells attack you is not because you are bad at magic, or anything of the sort. Quite the opposite, actually. Your magic was so powerful that you were targeted by a sinister force that caused your spells to turn hostile. That is why you are perfect for the Fire Seeker of Light."

Aside from her initial outburst, she seemed to be taking this very well, or at least better than me. She was nodding, almost as if she had already known.

"Your life was almost destroyed by dark magic. You have thought that the only place your spells could work is in this cave, but you are wrong. It is actually the fire crystals that empower your spells to resist the magic that makes them turn against you. No dark magic can ever take out the power of a fire crystal when it is in the possesion of a Fire wizard."

"Wait a minute. So that means if I take some of the crystals with me…"

"…then you will be able to use magic outside this cave again? Yes. The magic of the crystals is sure to prevent your spells from attacking you."

"Awesome! I've waited all my life to hear something like that! Okay, actually only since I found out that my spells go out of control but still, yay!" She turned to Hunter. "Now we can duel in a real duel arena! And I can do true quests with you, not the made up ones that Falmea creates that let me stay in this cave. And we can meet new people! And I can train in the Fire school again! And I can-"

"I'm sure you're very excited," the dragon laughed. "But you must help Ice Seeker Sierra WinterBreeze find the other Seekers."

"You're a Seeker of Light too?" Sydney asked me. "Wow! Who's next, Hunter?"

"He very well may be," the dragon agreed. "It is very common for two siblings to both be Seekers."

"This is amazing!" she whispered. "I can't believe I can live a normal life now, and apparently as a Seeker too!"

"Okay, who is the next Seeker?" I said impatiently. I had seen all of this before, and experienced it for myself. I didn't need it again. If I had to go through this every time, I figured I would get really, really bored.

"Yes, of course, Sierra WinterBreeze has already heard all of this. You have done very well, Sierra. Now you must find the Storm Seeker." The dragon paused, as if waiting for us to say something. When we didn't, it sighed and said, "All right. Her name is Victoria RavenSmith. She is a much lower level than both of you."

"A lower level? Where will we find her?" inquired Sydney.

"Do not worry about having to go back places to look for her. To find her, you may want the help of an old friend, Sierra."

"A friend? Who?"

"One of the first people you personally met on your first days in Ravenwood."

I wondered who I had met who could possibly help us find Victoria RavenSmith. I couldn't really remember who I had first met, other than my family.

"I guess we should start searching," Sydney sighed.

"Wait," said the dragon. "I have something for both of you."

"What?" we asked in unison.

The dragon reached down a hand to where we could see it, and I saw two beautiful necklaces in it. "These amulets glow when there is dark magic near. They will hopefully protect you from _him_."

I grabbed the necklaces. They both had silver chains, but one had a gorgeous blue gem in the center and the other a bright red one.

"The blue one is for the Ice Seeker, the red for the Fire," the dragon explained. "The Ice one has a sapphire in the middle. The red one has a fire crystal."

They were both radiant. Sydney looked so happy with her necklace!

"Go now, and start your search. Good luck to you both."

xXx

After I grabbed some fire crystals from Sydney to complete my quest from Falmea, we exited through the now-opened gate of Dragon Mouth Cave. Sydney and Hunter wanted to go to the PvP Arena, but I decided to head back home. I'd had too much excitement for one day. For one lifetime, actually.

Because no one else was home, I let myself into the quiet house. After I had put my necklace on the kitchen counter and deposited my wizard gear in my room, I sat down on the couch in the living room to think. I needed to find Victoria RavenSmith. How? There may be thousands of Victoria RavenSmiths attending the school. It would be impossible to find just one student. I felt like I was finding a needle in the haystack. But I had found Sydney, and within a week too. Could it possibly be that easy to find all the other Seekers?

Just then I heard a crash in the other room, followed by a yell. I jumped up, startled by the noise. Who could that be? No one else was home! I happened to glance to the side as I was running through the kitchen toward the back of the house, where the crash had emanated from. My necklace was sitting there, shining bright as the sun. I couldn't ponder over it, though, because I was preoccupied with finding out the cause of the noises.

When I ran to the back of the house, I heard movement in Rowan's room. Was she home and I hadn't noticed?

I was about to walk in but someone began speaking, and I stopped to listen. "We must search the house," declared a booming voice. That definitely wasn't Rowan's voice. Footsteps started coming towards me. Panicking, I dove into the closet next to me. I knew it wasn't a very good hiding spot if they were going to search for something, but it had to do for the moment. I wanted to teleport away, but what if they stole something important? Like my wand that was sitting in plain view on my bed?

Then I wondered if I should use Whisper Chat to contact someone. But who should I tell first? My parents? Rowan? Sydney? Whoever ran 911 in Wizard City? My family had never gone over what to do in an emergency.

I again perceived speaking, but I couldn't hear with the closed door. I pushed the door open a tiny bit and prayed they wouldn't notice.

Though it still sounded mostly like mumbling, I could make out bits of what they were saying. It didn't make any sense at all, however. All I heard was something about a wand, an Ice Wyvern, and then both Rowan's and my name.

Then I heard something that sent a shiver down my spine. Had I heard wrong? But I couldn't have confused that with anything else. _Malistaire _wasn't a very common word.

Suddenly someone shouted "Found it!" I wondered what they had found.

After some quiet conversation that I couldn't make out, there was a howling noise that signaled that they were teleporting. Before leaving, I took a risk to stick my head out the door, and spotted the pair. They looked like two normal adult Death wizards, but the way they stood there, the way they looked around so fearlessly, and the way they simply _felt _made me think that they were much, much worse. Though they left swiftly, I still didn't dare come completely out of my hiding spot until I was sure they weren't coming back.

I crept back out. The house was dark and eerie, making me tip-toe around silently.

I flipped on the light in my room. The first thing I noticed that it was ruined. They had trashed it! The second thing was that my wand was no longer on my bed. I had a vague hope that it had possibly fallen on the floor while they were searching for whatever it was, but I doubted it. Now I would have to save up for a new wand. My fire crystals that had been laying on the floor were also gone, so I would now have to get those again, too. What else was missing? I scanned the room, scowling at my spell cards scattered across the ground, but none of them looked like they were gone. I dug through my pouch, and gritted my teeth when I couldn't find my gold. Great. Now not only did I not have a wand, but I didn't have money to get a new one, either!

I then peeked into Rowan's room to find it in a similar state to mine. Her spare staff was gone, too. She preferred a wand, but she kept an Ice staff in case she needed one.

A wand, a staff, a few fire crystals, and some gold pieces were certainly important to us, but why would anyone else want them? Why didn't they take anything else?

As I trudged back out into the kitchen area, I found out how wrong I had been. They had stolen something else, and this was far more important than anything else. The counter was vacant.

My brand new sapphire necklace from the dragon was gone.

I should have expected this if they knew Malistaire, but I was still stunned. I didn't come out of my dazed state until I heard Sydney calling to me in Whisper Chat. _"Sierra, help!"_

"_Sydney?"_ I called back, snapping back to reality. No one answered. Had the wizards come to her house as well? With that grim thought in mind, I teleported to her.

The first thing I perceived was a voice that I knew all too well: "Hand over the necklace and no one will get hurt." Next, the scene appeared, and what I saw wasn't too surprising. We were in the dueling arena. Students were huddled against the walls, not wanting to be caught up in the fight.

One of the wizards saw me. "Hey, isn't that the other one?" he asked.

I wasn't quite sure what he meant, but there was no way I was going to let them hurt Sydney. "Leave her alone!" I commanded in a voice that I hoped sounded formidable. If these guys actually decided to fight, I'd be a goner without my wand. Plus, in my haste I had left my spell deck at home.

Unfortunately, they only laughed. "So you want to fight us then? I'd like to see you try!"

"I'm warning you," I said, but this time my voice wavered.

They chuckled again and one said, "We should take them to Malistaire."

"No!" cried out Sydney.

I noticed that Sydney was wearing her necklace around her neck and it was gleaming brightly. It was shining so much that I imagined if you stared at it for too long you would be blinded. That meant dark magic was near, which wasn't surprising with Malistaire's minions beside us.

I wanted to be brave, but I just couldn't, not when I was so terrified. I couldn't fight two _full_ grown wizards with tons of experience. After all, I was only a kid. And an Initiate kid at that. Sydney wasn't much better, or her brother. Even with Rowan's help I doubted we would get anywhere except dead.

I wished I could discuss a plan with Sydney. All I could do was hope that she would figure something out, because I was out of ideas.

"So, little girl, are you going to give us the fire crystal necklace or will we have to take it from you?"

Sydney's lower lip was trembling violently. I saw her slowly reach a hand up and put it on her necklace. I had no idea what I would have done in a situation like this. I'd lost my necklace, but I hadn't even gotten a chance to keep it safe. Now Sydney was stuck between that decision and certain death.

Finally Sydney looked up into their eyes and quietly replied, "No."

"What?" said one wizard, his eyes flashing with anger.

"No!" How I wished I could be as brave as her.

He smirked. "Fine, then we have to do this the hard way." He took out his wand, and drew the Death symbol in the air. With a slight, casual, lazy flick of his wrist, the symbol activated and a Wraith appeared. I shivered and backed away, but it raised its hand and I fell to the ground with Sydney and Hunter beside me. I think Sydney and her brother went unconscious. I almost did too, but I struggled to pay attention to what was around me. I saw the death wizards grabbing Sydney's necklace, and then my eyes couldn't take it anymore and they closed, and everything went black. Every breath I took in shot pains throughout my entire body. I was mostly worried about Sydney. She hardly had looked like she was breathing.

I was only vaguely aware that Malistaire's minions were talking. I was just about to slip into unconsciousness until I began to sense light from behind my closed eyelids. With some amount of struggle, I found the strength to open them a small crack. Near the door of the Player versus Player arena, there was a small ball of light. It grew bigger and bigger, until suddenly, it shot of in a million different directions to reveal Merle Ambrose, the headmaster.

The death wizards backed away. They were afraid of him! We were saved!

"I believe you have something that belongs to my two young students here," said Headmaster Ambrose.

"We'll never give them up! We'll tell Malistaire and-"

"Be gone!" he shouted and they disappeared in a puff of smoke. Both the sapphire and fire crystal necklaces clanged to the ground.

It was then that I couldn't hold on any longer and I was gone.

xXx

When I awoke, I was still in the PvP Arena. Ambrose had left, but Sydney and Hunter still laid there. No one else was in the arena with us. Where had everyone disappeared to? I shakily stood up, and then bent over to pick up both of our necklaces, whose glow had died down. I came to Sydney's side and shook her awake.

I examined myself to check if I was all right. I seemed just fine, and no longer felt pained as I did when I had first passed out. Sydney and Hunter were okay too. It was as if nothing had happened, as if the whole thing had just been a dream. Yet I was still fearful. If they had managed to steal everything so easily this time, wouldn't it be just as easy the next?

The Headmaster came, I reminded myself.

...But what if next time he didn't come?

I tried to push that thought out of my mind. Besides, I couldn't wait to get home to tell Rowan. These terrifying experiences were always great stories to tell – that is, if you survived them.

* * *

><p><em>AN: The main thing I didn't like about this chapter? __Dragon Mouth Cave is NOT that large in the game. Sydney can't fall for three minutes straight, or however long I made it sound like. Plus, the whole Flame thing was kind of stupid, in my opinion. It was just a reference to what my sister named her Sunbird in the game. But I didn't exactly know what else to do... so yeah. XD That's okay, though. I hope you lovely readers still like it. ;)_

_Speaking of you "lovely readers", thanks to Naomi Hansen, fanficreader137, sportzdawg, NeverlandGirl177, anonymous person without any name, Courtney, Laveycee, Hawkstar, Koulikovsky, PJATOSROCKS09, MayFairy, and CreatorofHavoc for the reviews!_

_...Wow, until I wrote you all down like that, I didn't realize there were so many! That's... twelve people? WOW! SO awesome! Hope you come back to review again! (And if you have questions I didn't answer, post them again, because I'm a lot more willing to respond individually to reviews now.)_

_By the way, I wrote half of this chapter on my brand new iPad, which doesn't have a spellchecker, so... I hope there's no mistakes. XD And I'm STILL working on Part 15, don't worry! Oh... that reminds me, if you're a fan of the originals (or even that much of a super fan of these three chapters that you'd enter this), there's a fan work contest on my blog, Sierra's Story. Google it or something._

_EDIT: And because I just realized what the date is... HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!_


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